Endangered orca pod welcomes new calf

There’s good news for the whale population off the coast as a new orca calf has been spotted in the L pod.

A southern resident orca calf was recently spotted in the Salish Sea, a new addition to the highly endangered population that researchers say is a reason for hope.

The new calf was seen with the L pod and has been dubbed L130. Researchers are still trying to determine who the whale’s mother is and its sex. They believe the calf is between one and three months old.

Dr. Anna Hall with Sea View Marine Sciences says it’s very welcome news.

“It’s very exciting because it’s L pod,” she told CTV News. “We’re always happy with a calf in the southern resident killer whale community, but L pod is the pod that has sustained the biggest fluctuations and the biggest decline between J, K and L pod over the last two decades.”

The L pod also welcomed a new calf in February, which was spotted in the Strait of Juan De Fuca near Sooke.

The two newcomers would bring the population of the L pod to 35, and the total southern resident count to 76, according to figures from the Washington-based Center for Whale Research.

However, Hall says there’s a high infant mortality rate among this type of orca, which unlike transient killer whales exclusively eat fish—primarily Chinook salmon.

“We have to be happy, but prepared that the young one may not make it,” she said. “But right now, things are looking good.”